Acceptable Accuracy for White Tail?

I agree with Ruger, a 6" target hit reliably is more then enough to take a whitetail from similiar distances. My father swears if you can hit a pie plate at 100 yds you'll get him. I don't agree with that much wiggle room, but he has dropped many more deer then me where they stood.

I would also encourage you to have them practice with the rifle they will be taking into the field. 22's are nice to learn good technique but when somethings life hangs in the balance they should be confident with the rifle they are using.
 
I would also encourage you to have them practice with the rifle they will be taking into the field. 22's are nice to learn good technique but when somethings life hangs in the balance they should be confident with the rifle they are using.
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Yes I am looking for a youth 243 as we speak for them. Sure would like to find one used, but don't see many. I have an AR in 223 that i am going to let them use to stretch out the distance until I can lay my hands on a 243. Heck, I really need 2 of them!
 
Start them with a single shot .That engraves in their brain the idea "I only have one shot I have to make it count !" Rather than "If I miss I'll take him with the second or third round "
Teach the anatomy of the animal so he can take a good hit from any angle.
Don't let him try to shoot THROUGH the brush but find an opening. [any bullet can be deflected !']
I taught myself by putting a 6 oz frozen orange juice can in the field at 50 yds. If you hit it it moves , presenting a different view each shot.
Let him have some fun type shooting after the serious time.
 
My personal limitations on this is not to shoot deer at distances that I cannot keep 5 shots inside of 2 inches with a particular firearm
 
Expect "group size" to double or triple when actually aiming at an animal(especially the first time). You'd better start them off shooting a few rabbits this winter and squirrels next summer to get them over the "first kill" syndrome.
 
I agree that groups will be considerably larger when shooting real animals but I disagree that shooting at "irrelevant" animals will help with deer hunting. I killed countless thousands of woodchucks and pigeons before I ever killed a deer. It didn't do a thing for the stress/nervous reaction the first time a deer showed up. Pounding heart, shaking hands, etc. Never had it with small animals, never stopped having it with deer.
 
i go for 1" or less at 50 yds, not alot of 100 yd shots where i hunt, but 2 to 3" at 100 is good for me, im anal though, i wanna know that my gun can hit a nail head at 50 to 80 yds. Hit the lungs and your good though!
 
I agree that groups will be considerably larger when shooting real animals but I disagree that shooting at "irrelevant" animals will help with deer hunting. I killed countless thousands of woodchucks and pigeons before I ever killed a deer. It didn't do a thing for the stress/nervous reaction the first time a deer showed up. Pounding heart, shaking hands, etc. Never had it with small animals, never stopped having it with deer.
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I agree shooting small animals doesn't help with heart rate, but I do think it helps with target acquisition which is extremely important for a new hunter. If bringing a rifle up, acquiring the target and making a good shot are second nature when your heart rate is down, then heart rate and excitement is all you need to worry about when a buck walks by.

Calling coyotes I feel is excellent practice. It's about as exciting so the heart rate gets up, and their behavior is more similar to big game i.e they are looking for danger and you have to shoot them in a timely manner or they are gone etc.
 
6 inches is all the necessary accuracy you need for whitetail. as long as they can pull that off every time they'll be golden. of course telling them they can always be better is not a bad idea, keep them working to better themselves even if they are already accurate enough.
 
of course telling them they can always be better is not a bad idea, keep them working to better themselves even if they are already accurate enough.
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Very good point tahunua001.

Don't think I ever heard as a child from dad that my shooting was good enough. Same with any instructor as I was older. Always heard "that's decent" or "good" or "needs improvement" or "I know you can shoot better then that"...but hearing "that's good enough" :eek: never has happened. :D

Seems there was always improvement needed if not only on what the target said but with stance/form, grip, breathing, follow-thru etc,etc,etc.

Saying all that, I was praised for my improvements , taught with a positive approach and always had fun. Something I was always thankful for. But always knew that in the shooting game, there is always room for improvement.
 
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Pie plate at the max distance you'd shoot. If you can't hit the plate 5 out of 5, walk it in until you can.

Some people say 3 or 4 out of 5 but if you can't hit it every time calm at the bench you probably won't hit it with your heart pounding watching your cross hairs bounce around on a heavy 8 pt.
 
The paper plate thing has been overly generous all along. Over the years, I've found 8-10 deer that someone else hit toward the ass-end of that magic paper plate. I hit one like that myself a few years ago (44 Mag/300XTP/1350) and bought myself a 300 yard tracking job. Not cool.

If you want a cheap picnic target that relates more closely to meaningful kill shots, use paper bowls that measure around 7" max, edge to edge. Count only those shots that cut the bottom of it. If you can do that from field positions, 90% of the time, with a high-powered rifle or heavy hunting revolver- you've found your effective range.

Shooting for meat is a different matter. A deer is a much less visible target than the picnic bowl. Poor light, grass and brush make the shot even harder. I think there is no substitute for shooting at animals--especially for handgun hunters--and I encourage you shoot junk critters before you contemplate deer hunting with one. You've got to learn to shoot for a specific spot on an animal and the variables are many. There is simply no substitute for actually doing this.

The mechanical accuracy of the firearm is a lot simpler matter. 2 MOA for rifles and 4 MOA for conventional hunting handguns is all you need.
 
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I think the paper plate standard is just fine. I think more study needs to be done on where to place that magical paper plate on the deer. This is something you can't learn at the range. Every I have trained new hunters, I used a few dozen magazine photos of deer in varied positions, and always quized them for the aiming point in each photo, or whether to pass or wait for a better shot. That "shoot behind the shoulder" advice only works if the deer is in a certain position that they don't always pose in for you.

Not being able to hold eyeball shots at long distances should not keep a kid out of the woods. If his lethal distance is 35 yards, then its 35 yards. Eastern whitetails are not typically shot at western antelope distances.
 
I am probably influenced by years of handgun hunting, but I think bowhunters may have a better handle on this than anybody. Any shot I have landed in or on this circle has resulted in a deer on the ground at or near impact, regardless of what I was using. I do tend to shoot for the front side of it.

killzone.jpg


Credit: http://www.advice4hunters.com/bowhunting-techniques.html

I also think the circle represents about the minimum accuracy I would accept, for whatever gun, load and ramge I expected to shoot.
 
When I was doing outfitting and guiding I had a policy that I found to be very useful
I would always buy those 5 inch party plates. The thick paper plates you see at birthday parties. They were handy around camp, and to wash dishes you throw them in the fire pit.

My hunters were asked to put 5 shots into one of them. Didn’t matter what they were hunting with. Long bow. Compound bow. Handgun. Muzzleloader. High powered rifle.

5 shots, no misses

At the range my hunter could do it was that hunters effective range.

I guided a sheep hunter in Nevada who did it for me at 500 yards with a 270.
I also remember one hand gunner that could not do it past 17 yards.
Both got their game.


As a guide, I modified the hunting style to accommodate the skill of the shooter. Poor shots need to be very close, so them I set up as ambush hunters.

Others do well with slow movements and going to ground at every stop. Some are skilled enough to spot and stalk.

As a guide it was my job to get my hunters within THEIR range. Not just to show them animals on the other side of a valley or canyon.
 
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a half in off the bench! That still does not make a hunter till he can shoot 2 in free hand. The there is buck fever also!
 
I never shoot big game "off hand." If I can't get set for a good steady shot off sticks or a bipod or a fence post or a rock or whatever, the heck with it. Off Hand shooting is so susceptible to flinch, trigger jerk, whatever, that it just isn't useful to me any more. IMO it's best if a person can focus the sights on the kill zone of a game animal for a few seconds to get set and squeeze the shot off in a controlled deliberate manner.

Shooting at a deer target, and dry firing at a deer target is really good, as it teaches how to focus and aim at the kill zone. When confronted with game, the first instinct is to aim where you have been practicing. Putting bullet holes into a deer target in the kill zone will create almost instinctive focus on that area when hunting.

To the OP: Your kids are really fortunate to have a Dad that is invested in teaching good skills. Good on ya!
 
When I taught my kids to shoot the rule was a pop can. I think a paper plate may be a little big. Also kids like shooting pop cans! Especially when they are still full of cheep soda.
 
For me, it's hitting a six inch target at the max range he would be shooting. To me, that's 150 yards here. If he can hit that target consistently from 150, then the kid is good to go.
 
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